The Montreal G.L.B.T. International Theatre Festival - HARVEST
Hello, welcome everyone and thank you for coming this evening. My name is Davyn Ryall and I am the Artistic Director of Village Scene Productions (V.S.P.).
V.S.P. was created with a vision to develop new work and to promote new talent. Focusing on material of a diverse nature and on raw creative talent it is our goal to improve the image of our community by utilizing the art of drama to transcend boundaries, inform and demystify our ‘Queer Culture’ for a general theatre going public. While being valuable entertainment, artistic integrity is never sacrificed to bring the message to the stage.
We are privileged to work with some very innovative writers, performers and directors and have come to learn the value and true meaning of collaboration. Without the support from each other in the theatre community the words will remain on paper and never be brought to the eyes and ears of the eager awaiting audience … in other words “from the page to the stage”. The collaborative process is what defines what is the true essence of theatre today.
Having participated numerous times in performing arts events like the Fringe, Le festival de théâtre amateur de Montréal and the Columbus GLBT National Theatre Festival, I have come to appreciate the need for professional exchange and mutual encouragement. So whether you are a designer, a playwright, a performer, a musician or a director; or even a theatre critic, we are all part of that audience looking for new fresh talent, a voice in the dark to bring light to the stage.
Montreal will again unite to celebrate the performing arts and original authentic Queer writing with the 2nd edition of the annual Montreal G.L.B.T. Int’l. Theatre Festival. Let me clarify something again this year … you do not have to be Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, or Transgender to participate in any way with this event, nor does it mean that you are if you do. It is still very frustrating that we have to specify that. It is the most frequently asked question since launching this event last year. It is all about the written word. The content and the subject matter dictate whether or not a production will be accepted into the festival. To date Village Scene Productions has produced ten productions in three years and we do not discriminate, we’re all about diversity. As a professional company, what matters are the talent and the willingness to learn and contribute. Hopefully one year I will not have to repeat this again.
Without sponsorship of community events like this festival, there will be no change or advancement of art, there will be no produced playwrights, there will be no entertainment for the public. The Queer Tax dollars are still not being equally redistributed into the community and neither are those of the artists. This year the Ville de Montreal (amateur theatre portfolio) declined our request for assistance in developing community theatre, stating that our objectives were not clear enough … you may draw your own conclusions. So whether it comes from our local businesses, or from outside of our immediate community, sponsorship remains paramount to the success of bringing this festival and your art to the hearts and minds of the awaiting audience.
On that note let me take a moment to thank our confirmed partners who are helping us bring you this years’ 2nd edition of the festival: Station C, E-Peripherals Security, Belle Gueule and Verscell-Telus. And to all of the media for their ongoing support and coverage, especially ToBe, Fugues, Voix de Village, Mirror, RG, Hour, and C.K.U.T., Radio Centre-Ville, among other radio stations and CFCF 12 TV.
The Montreal G.L.B.T. Int’l. Theatre Festival is expanding this year to more than one location in order to accommodate the increased number of productions and to better match those selected productions with an appropriate performance space. This event is still one of the only all G.L.B.T. themed events to take place within the Village and every effort will be made to maintain this status. However, finding adequet space is very restrained so we appeal to local establishments to help us keep this all-queer event in the area.
In light of Image & Nation changing their dates to November it was necessary for V.S.P. to adjust the dates of the event this year in order to accommodate our community, sponsors and the media. The theatre festival will now take place at the end of summer in mid-September from Thursday, September 15 to Sunday, September 25, 2005. It is our hope that the members of the GLBT community will adapt to this change in the events calendar and we anticipate that the good weather will help bring more attention and success to the festival. This year the festival is called HARVEST to coincide with the new season for the event.
V.S.P. accepted submissions from, local, national and international companies this year. A selection committee jury was assigned the task of evaluating each submission. The evaluating process was divided into two groups, English and French, and each group evaluated the submissions that we have received. They were asked to give a literal analysis of the play from a technical writing point of view. To evaluate the production feasibility within the realm of the festival and to judge the entertainment value from a general audience perspective. All of the plays had to be between 30 and 120 minutes and have some relevance to the G.L.B.T. theme or lifestyle.
The volunteer jury selected by V.S.P. consisted of professionals in related fields of literature and theatre production, and this year our sponsorship partners were invited to participate in the selection as well:
Mr. Alan Brown, Mr. Saul Carliner, Ms. Elaine Fides, Ms. Ludmila Grombosky, M. Yanick Bousquet, Ms. Joelle, and Ms. VAN.
I wish to thank the members of the jury for a job well done and for giving us their time and sharing their knowledge making this evaluating process much easier. The final selection was made by V.S.P. based on these evaluations. While I am on the topic of volunteers, I would like to take a moment to personally thank all those who have given so freely of their time to help get this project off the ground so far.
Now I know that by now you are anxiously awaiting and expecting to find out who is in the festival. And I am going to do just that . . . right after I tell you all about the agenda of events leading up to the festival confirmed so far:
Village Scene Productions presents
The Montreal G.L.B.T. International Theatre Festival – HARVEST
The second annual gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender international performing arts festival in Montreal.
Produced by:
Village Scene Productions
Artistic Director and Festival Coordinator
Davyn Ryall
Sunday, May 8 18h. Deadline for submissions to the writing competition “Creating New Traditions”. One act plays, monologues, short stories and poems.
Friday, June 30th 18h. Deadline for submissions to “Seedlings”. One act plays, monologues, short stories and poems. To be produced by V.S.P. as a compilation of shorts in the festival.
Saturday, July 30st and Sunday July 31st 11am – 5pm. Divers-Cité Community Days. Participants in the festival are invited to promote their productions and any other projects that they are currently involved with at our booth located on Ste-Catherine east between St-Hubert and Berri streets.
Thursday, September 1st. The Rainbow Festival Pass goes on sale. They include entry into six presentations. Issued in limited quantity (aprox. 75 to 100) at a cost of $69.00 ($11.50 per show) for the general public; $45.00 for members of production companies ($7.50 per show). Also, tickets to individual performances in the festival go on sale. Prices range from $10. to $25. Available through V.S.P. only. Final program schedule will now be available.
Wednesday, August 31st or Thursday, September 1st. 8pm.T.B.A.“ScripTease”. A Cabaret style evening where all participants in the festival are invited to promote their productions to the general public. Artists from the festival will be given time (aprox. 5 min.) on stage to perform extracts from their plays. Talkback period and interviews with the playwrights. Also variety stage performances. This fundraising event will be held at 8pm. The exact date T.B.A. Cost: Entrance is free, donations are gratefully appreciated. Individual tickets for the festival productions will be available for purchase.
Thursday, September 15th 6pm. Official festival opening cocktail. A chance for our guests to mingle with the artists, festival production crew, volunteers, media representatives and sponsors to get together and network.
Thursday, September 15th 8pm. Its show time folks. The premiere performance will start off the festival. Production performances run daily from 6pm and weekends from noon until Sunday, September 25 See program production schedule for plays and times.
Sunday, September 25th 10pm. Official closing ceremonies. Honorable mentions given out.
I am going to mention two categories of acceptance: Official entry and conditional entry. If the name of your play or your company is not mentioned, it does not mean that it is not a good play or production. It means that within the realm of this festival it was not as feasible to mount the production when compared against the other submissions received.
Out of the 19 plays submitted twelve (12) met with the selection criteria outlined to qualify as official entries. Three to four presentations will be awarded to each selected official entry in the festival. Four (4) entries have also been awarded conditional acceptance. This means that there were some production elements that needed to be addressed inorder to ensure that we could properly mount the production within the festival.
Official entries :
Woven Colors by Joseph Erban
Ethics Theatre English – local.
Fairy’s Tales by Jason Summers
Brave New Productions English – local.
Circle Dance by Martin Dansky & Brian Dworkin-Robertson
Circle Dance Productions Englis – local.
After Words by Adam White
TailSpin Productions English – national.
Lady In Waiting by Charles Hayter
Fifth Ventrical Productions English – national.
Spain by Michael Rubenfeld
Absit Omen Theatre English – national.
Safe Word by Denis Couillard
Real Theatre English - national
Seedlings - A Compliation Various pieces, Davyn Ryall artistic director.
V.S.P. Local, National, and International.
Les Nouvelles Amazones de Laurent Fadanni
Productions Farce Poetico-Trash Français – local.
Un Seul ou Le Pied Beau de Maxime Demons
Maxime Demons Producteur Français – local.
Le Foyer de Laurent Duval
Productions Torch Français – local.
Unaccessorized by Rich Kiamco
A Rich Kiamco Production English – international.
Conditional entries :
Encounter By Chance by Brian Saxe
Saxe Appeal Theatre English – local.
Café Troisieme de Maxime
Café Troisieme Français – local.
Ma Pitite Vie Gaie de Daniel Bourry et Martin Legault
Aux Prisme Français - local.
Ca Monte … et Ca Descend ! de Christophe Mirambeau
Productions Charlene Duval Français – International
On behalf of V.S.P. our jury and sponsors we wish to thank all of the local companies that made a submission this year. Please join me in congratulating all of the selected companies. A tentative program schedule will be released in mid-July and the final schedule at the end of August. Remember to get out support theatre and buy a ticket to a show! Thanks for coming and we’ll see all of you again soon.